Smithsonian Telephone Numbers Change

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Summary

Smithsonian telephone numbers change from the "381" exchange (on the Mall) to "357" as the result of the replacement of the old electromechanical phone system, installed in 1961, with the Bell System's Centrex 11. It is believed that the prefix for numbers at the National Zoological Park and Barney House will change to "745,"and numbers at the National Museum of African Art, Anacostia Museum, and L'Enfant Plaza to "479." This was, in fact, a C&P Telephone Company error. The correct prefixes proved to be "673 "for the Zoo and Barney House, and "287" for Anacostia and L'Enfant Plaza. All the other buildings, on the Mall, the Renwick, National Portrait Gallery, National Collection of Fine Arts and the North Capitol Street facility changed to "357."

Category

Chronology of Smithsonian History

Notes

  • Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 371, Box 3, "The Torch," April 1980, p. 1.
  • Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 371, Box 3, "The Torch," May 1980, p. 1.

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

June 2, 1980

Topic

  • Telephone
  • Telephone switchboards

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